Sports

Kiszla: Broncos' Brandon Lloyd, Eddie Royal might be on to something

Guess not everyone in the NFL is eager to catch quarterback Tim Tebow's act. Broncos receivers Brandon Lloyd and Eddie Royal want out of Denver, baby.

Maybe they're smart for seeking a trade from a franchise that has lost 24 of its past 31 games, because the dog days are far from over at Dove Valley. I suspect monetary issues that contributed to irreconcilable differences between former coach Mike Shanahan and franchise owner Pat Bowlen still linger and are nudging free-agents-to-be Royal and Lloyd toward the exit door.

It's neither fun nor profitable to play for John Fox, especially if you are a pass-catcher. He didn't invent the No Fun League. But the first-year Denver coach plays a style of football that can induce yawns and incite a crowd to chant Tebow's name.

While scapegoat horns seem to fit perfectly on the head of deposed quarterback Kyle Orton, it would be a screaming shame to blame him for the team's alarming 13.5 percent drop from last season to its current paltry 6.4 yards per pass attempt, which ranks among the bottom five teams in the league.

The play-calling for this team could not be more conservative if the Broncos hired the ghost of Woody Hayes to be the offensive coordinator.

While it was assumed Fox would beef up the running attack in Denver, this has been more wishful thinking than fact, with the Broncos averaging a mere 5 more yards per game on the ground than a year ago.

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When Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall were sent packing from the Broncos under the watch of Josh McDaniels, the inexperienced coach was blasted for being unable to deal with the egos of talented players. But might the significant salary bumps received by Cutler and Marshall shortly after joining their respective new teams have had anything to do with Denver's desire to move them?

The final hours before the NFL trade deadline have traditionally proved to be a poor time to make a fair deal. Coming off the league's work stoppage, the new Broncos brain trust did not see fit to move Orton, Lloyd or Royal during training camp. Now a rebuilding team that could use all the draft choices it can stockpile risks losing them all as free agents. These guys carry themselves professionally. But players who have reason to believe a happier future must wait for another NFL city do little to promote team unity.

Remember when Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway was futilely trying to persuade Jim Harbaugh to interview for the vacant coaching position in Denver? He promptly took a $5 million annual salary to resurrect San Francisco, and has infused a downtrodden franchise with such a feisty spirit that Detroit coach Jim Schwartz went ballistic Sunday because Harbaugh was too enthusiastic shaking hands after another victory by the surprising 49ers.

The Broncos hired Fox at a discount, in the wake of his 2-14 record with Carolina. Fox is a good football man. But does anybody else have the uneasy feeling he was signed to be the caretaker in a transitional period that might include too many defeats for any coach to survive long term?

Folks don't get ticked at the affable Fox after games, with the possible exception of Broncomaniacs too impatient to wait three years for this team to be respectable again.

Money can't buy you love.

Pro football, however, is not much different from any other business in the free marketplace. You generally get what you pay for.

Elway is learning on the job as an NFL executive and deserves time to grow.

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.